BACKGROUND: Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) has emerged as a potential alternative to traditional methods for non-thermal food decontamination. However, little data are available about ACP treatment for seafood. In this study, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was applied to generate CP, and the aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of DBD-ACP on improving the quality of chub mackerel on the basis of chemical, microbial, and sensory characteristics. RESULTS: The effect of DBD-ACP on the quality of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) during storage was examined...

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of using oleogels from high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) and monoglycerides as solid fat replacers in a sweet bakery product. Firstly, a methodology to obtain oleogels with desired properties based on mathematical models able to describe relationships between process and product characteristics variables followed by multi-objective optimization was applied. Later, muffins were prepared with the optimized oleogels and their physicochemical and textural properties were compared with those of muffins formulated using a commercial margarine (Control) or only HOSO...

To develop and evaluate a web application based on multimedia animations, combined with a training program, to improve the prescription of exercises in spondyloarthritis (SpA). After a review of exercises included in the main clinical trials and recommendations of international societies, a multidisciplinary team-rehabilitators, rheumatologists, physiotherapists, computer scientists and graphic designers-developed a web application for the prescription of exercises (EJES-3D). Once completed, this was presented to 12 pairs of rehabilitators-rheumatologists from the same hospital in a workshop...

BACKGROUND: in the framework of the current tendency toward the further development of the socio-economic sphere in the Russian Far East (RFE), the relevant investigations aimed at creating the comfortable conditions for recreational and touristic activities as well as for rehabilitative therapy of the local population acquire the increasingly greater importance. AIM: The objective of the present study was the comprehensive evaluation of the bioclimatic comfort at the territories of interest with special reference to winter-time recreational activities and primary wellness tourism...

BACKGROUND: Comorbidity constitutes a serious challenge for rehabilitative medicine. The comorbidity of the dorsopathy of the lumbar spine and irritable bowel syndrome mutually complicates the clinical course of both conditions, significantly reduces the patients' quality of life. and increases the costs of diagnostic procedures and restoration of the working capacity. The approaches to the non-pharmacological management of the patients presenting with these diseases remain to be developed...

The urban landscape in China has changed rapidly over the past four decades, which has led to various environmental consequences, such as water quality degradation at the regional scale. To improve water restoration strategies and policies, this study assessed the relationship between water quality and landscape change in Shenzhen, China, using panel regression analysis. The results show that decreases in natural and semi-natural landscape compositions have had significant negative effects on water quality...

Citri reticulatae pericarpium (CRP), the dried pericarps of Citrus reticulata Blanco and its cultivars, has been widely used in drugs and foods in China for centuries. In this study, an accurate and feasible analytical method based on HS-SPME-GC-MS coupled with multivariate statistical analyses was developed to comprehensively compare volatile compounds of pericarps derived from Citrus reticulata "Chachi" ("Guangchenpi" in Chinese, GCP) and other cultivars of Citrus reticulata Blanco ("Chenpi" in Chinese, CP)...

The purpose of this study is to examine in a clinical setting a novel formulation of objective functions for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment plan multicriteria optimization (MCO) that we suggested in a recent study. The proposed objective functions are extended with dynamic multileaf collimator (DMLC) delivery constraints from the literature, and a tailored interior point method is described to efficiently solve the resulting optimization formulation. In a numerical planning study involving three patient cases, DMLC plans Pareto optimal to the MCO formulation with the proposed objective functions are generated...

OBJECTIVE: Introduction: Basic materials used in the clinic of orthopedic dentistry are high-polymer compounds and have a number of positive properties in certain conditions. The main group of materials for manufacturing of removable dentures is acrylic plastics of hot polymerization. However, such materials can sometimes cause a number of complications. Using removable prostheses, which are made of acrylic plastics can cause the development of an allergic or toxic-chemical reaction of tissues of the prosthetic bed...

BACKGROUND: Many people confront potentially morally injurious experiences (PMIEs) in the course of their work which can violate deeply held moral values or beliefs, putting them at risk for psychological difficulties (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, etc.).AimsWe aimed to assess the effect of moral injury on mental health outcomes. METHOD: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between work-related PMIEs and mental health disorders...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to perform a decision and cost-effectiveness analysis comparing four screening strategies for the antenatal diagnosis of vasa previa among singleton pregnancies. METHODS: A decision-analytic model was constructed comparing vasa previa screening strategies. Published probabilities and costs were applied to four transvaginal screening scenarios which occurred at the time of mid-trimester ultrasound: no screening, ultrasound-indicated screening, screening pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF), and universal screening...

Background: The development and application of medical technologies reflect the medical quality and clinical capacity of a hospital. It is also an effective approach in upgrading medical service and core competitiveness among medical institutions. This study aimed to build a quantitative medical technology evaluation system through questionnaire survey within medical institutions to perform an assessment to medical technologies more objectively and accurately, and promote the management of medical quality technologies and ensure the medical safety of various operations among the hospitals...

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy harm both maternal and infant health and have been linked to ambient particulate matter. However, existing studies are restricted to a local scale and remain inconsistent. A large-scale study is required to enrich the epidemiological evidence and explore the potential sources of the inconsistency. Making use of US birth certificates (1999-2004), and monitoring data from the environmental protection agency air quality networks, we associated hypertensive disorders in pregnancy with maternal exposure to fine particles or coarse particles using logistic regression analysis after adjusting for many covariates among >5 million subjects in the contiguous United States...

Climate change is producing an increase on extreme weather events around the world such as flooding, drought and extreme ambient temperatures impacting animal production and animal welfare. At present, there is a lack of studies addressing the effects of climatic conditions associated with energy intake in finishing cattle in South American feed yards. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of environmental variables and level of metabolizable energy intake above maintenance requirements (MEI) on performance and carcass quality of steers...

The purpose of the study was to predict young children's shyness from both internal/biological (i.e., resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and external (i.e., neighborhood quality) factors. Participants were 180 children at 42 (Time 1; T1), 72 (T2), and 84 (T3) months of age. RSA data were obtained at T1 during a neutral film in the laboratory. Mothers reported perceived neighborhood quality at T2 and children's dispositional shyness at T1 and T3. Path analyses indicated that resting RSA interacted with neighborhood quality to predict T3 shyness, even after controlling for earlier family income and T1 shyness...

Halcyon™ is a single-energy (6 MV-FFF), bore-enclosed linear accelerator. Patient setup is performed by first aligning to external lasers mounted to the front of the bore, and then loading to isocenter through pre-defined couch shifts. There is no light field, optical distance indicator or front pointer mechanism, so positioning is verified through MV imaging with kV imaging scheduled to become available in the future. TG-51 reference dosimetry was successfully performed for Halcyon™ in this imaging-based setup paradigm...

Increasingly, existing evidence indicates that methotrexate-associated liver injury is related to comorbid risk factors such as diabetes, alcoholism, and obesity, rather than to methotrexate itself. Despite this fact, significant effort continues to be expended in the monitoring of low-dose methotrexate in patients with psoriasis. The gold standard investigation has been liver biopsy, but this is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. As methotrexate-induced liver injury is uncommon, the risk/benefit ratio of liver biopsy has been questioned...

Background: Increasing importance is being placed on optimizing the role of Nursing Aides (NAs) in improving quality of care for nursing home (NH) residents. One approach to do so is to have NAs participate in assessments embedded within the Minimum Data Set (MDS). This pilot study aimed to design and evaluate the Applied Simulated and Integrated Learning Approach (ASILA) program, a novel innovative training program for NAs employed in NHs to enhance their ability to assess residents within an inter-professional framework...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in patients with ischemic stroke (IS). Materials and methods: Clinical trials involved in this research were searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, Wanfang and CNKI database. Therapeutic effects of MSC therapy were assessed according to National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Barthel index (BI), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and its safety was evaluated based on adverse events...

Purpose: Patients with advanced-stage COPD often experience severe hypoxemia. Treatment with long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) may relieve patients' symptoms and increase survival. As COPD is incurable, improving patients' health-related quality of life is important. The Chinese version of the Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire (SRI) is valid for patients with hypercapnic COPD undergoing noninvasive positive airway pressure ventilation at home. However, the reliability and validity of the Chinese SRI for patients with COPD undergoing LTOT have not been investigated...